Last week we reported expecting budbreak in our vineyard to happen around St. Patricks Day, March 17. Today we saw the first signs of leaves breaking out of their protective enclosures. Pretty close, eh?Vintage 2013 has started!

We bottled the very first batch of Cabernet Sauvignon from our vineyard. Harvested on October 10, 2010, so appropriately named 10-10-10. This wine was hand harvested, hand destemmed and manually pressed. Too much work in hindsight. We know better now and use a motorized crusher/destemmer and basket press. We added some oak cubes to increase complexity. The result is a smooth, fruit forward dense wine. As it matures, the primary aroma's of cherry and blackcurrant will slowly get replaced by an even nicer nice bouquet. That's the charm of wines that get aged for at least 3 years.

We changed the clock forward to daylight saving time, and are getting close to St. Patrick's Day, celebrated on March 17. This is the time where we see the first vines spring back to life and some Temecula vineyards already reported budbreak. As usual, the white varietals are the first to show their first leaves.

Our vines have decided to stay dormant a little longer. Last weekend there was still no sign of budbreak in our vineyard, but we are getting close. Meanwhile, we have applied some fertilization as the Temecula soil is nitrogen deficient. When our vines wake up, they'll have sufficient nutrients and energy for the new vintage.